


do you swear it (do you really?)

by suomynonAnonymous



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Slightly dark Percy, Time Travel, Time Travel Fix-It, but not rlly
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-04
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-17 14:34:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,584
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29842968
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/suomynonAnonymous/pseuds/suomynonAnonymous
Summary: Percy Jackson is killed in the final battle against Kronos, so why does he wake up to the Oracle saying the prophecy that started him on this cursed path?\“Um, Percy? Did the Oracle curse you or something?” Grover asks nervously.“No!” he shouts, whirling around. “Wait. Am I cursed? Oh my gods, I could be cursed.”“Percy, maybe we should take to see Mr. D-”“No, I’m fine.” he manages to get out. “Now let’s go on this quest!” \
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson, Luke Castellan & Percy Jackson, Percy Jackson & Grover Underwood
Comments: 28
Kudos: 99
Collections: Completed stories I've read





	1. hurtling through

**Author's Note:**

> In case u cant tell, Im obsessed with time travel and Percy Jackson. but not ToA, that sucks.

Percy Jackson hesitates, then hands the dagger to the fallen boy on the ground, possessed by a Titan. Grover lets out a startled shout behind him, yelling “Percy, what are you  _ doing _ ?”

Percy ignores him, watching Luke slowly undo the straps of his armor. His skin is glowing golden as Kronos struggles to take control, to break free. Luke holds the dagger above a small bit of skin under his left arm;  _ almost impossible to hit _ he thought.

The world held its breath as Luke closed his eyes, then stabbed down. Luke howled, a tremendous explosion blowing through the room, knocking him off my feet and onto the floor. He could feel the sharp shrapnel digging into his back, and he could hear Kronos roaring with hate and rage in the middle of the maelstrom. 

When the light cleared, there was a charred body lying next to the hearth, with eyes the color of the blue sky. 

“Good...blade” he croaks, as Annabeth limped over with Grover’s help. Percy tries to get up, only to stagger, coughing out a few droplets of blood.

_ Wait. _

_ Blood? _

_ Wasn’t he still invulnerable? _

That’s when he saw the shard of glass sticking out of his back. 

_ His weak spot. _

He collapses to the floor, feeling his life force drain out of his body. Luke glances over at his fall, then gasps.

“Perc- Percy, I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry. I never wanted you to die.”

Grover stumbles over to him, the blood draining out of his face.

“We can get some ambrosia- or nectar-”

Percy stops him. “I can’t heal, Grover, not from this.” He gives a weak bloody smile, then turns towards Luke. 

“I forgive you.” he rasps, and Annabeth cries over the dying bodies of the two boys she loves.

He breathes deeply one last time, then the world fades to black. But he doesn’t appear on the banks of River Styx in the Underworld.

Instead, when he snaps back to awareness, he is standing in front of the mummified Oracle in the attic of the Big House, hearing it speak.

“ _ And you shall fail to save what matters most, in the end.” _

_ What. The. Fuck? _

_ Strange afterlife scene _ he thinks, wandering back down the stairs in a daze.

“Well?” Chiron asks him.

“This is  _ not  _ how I expected the Underworld to look like.” he answers. “Is this Elysium?” 

“What?” Grover says, spitting out the remains of a Diet Coke can. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, I always thought Hades would actually be in the Underworld. And I thought I was supposed to be judged first? Unless they were just like, hey, he’s too awesome to be judged or something.” 

Chiron stares at him in confusion. “No, what did the  _ Oracle  _ say, Percy. Why are you talking about the Underworld?” 

He stared at him, baffled for a few seconds.  _ What was he talking about? I thought the Oracle was Rachel now? No wait, I’m dead. _

_ Wait. _

_ WAIT. _

_ That prophecy sounded familiar. _

_ Holy shit, did I time travel? _

Chiron and Grover stare at him worriedly, watching his spiralling dilemma. 

“What year is it?” he snaps at Chiron, who looks confused but replies “2005. Why?” 

“Holy shit. Holy shit. Crap. Oh my fucking gods.” he mutters, putting his head in his hand. 

“Um, Percy? Did the Oracle curse you or something?” Grover asks nervously.

“No!” he shouts, whirling around. “Wait. Am I cursed? Oh my gods, I could be cursed.”

“Percy, maybe we should take to see Mr. D-”

“No, I’m fine.” he manages to get out. “Now let’s go on this quest!”

He tries to inject as much enthusiasm in his voice as he can, channeling his inner Aphrodite, but he can tell that Chiron and Grover aren’t fooled. 

“Alright.” Chiron says skeptically. “So, what did the Oracle say?”

“You shall go west and face the god who has turned, you shall find what was stolen, and see it safely returned, you shall be betrayed by one who calls you a friend, and you shall fail to save what matters most in the end. The usual prophecy; cryptic, depressing, and way too many you’s.”

Grover looks extremely nervous now.

“Percy, that sounds bad. Maybe we should let some more experienced campers go this tim-”

“No!” he squeaks, his voice pitching embarrassingly. “No, it’s fine. I can do this.”   
  


He silently bemoans all the hard work puberty has lost, but manages to keep a forced smile on his face. 

“Percy, you understand what you have to do, right?” Chiron asks.

“Yep!” he says cheerily. “Go to my  _ dear  _ uncle’s realm, try to find my other uncle’s toy, then get to a fantastical realm in the skies in ten days.”

Grover looks like he’s about to faint. 

“You don’t have to go, if you don’t want to.” he tells Grover, knowing he will agree anyways.

Sure enough, after stuttering about the Underworld and satyrs, Grover agrees to come with him on the quest.

Percy sighs with relief. If he really did time travel, he would have to keep things as similar as possible, so he knew what was going to happen next.

“Wonderful.” Chiron says. “Now, one other person will accompany you and Grover on this quest, if you will accept her help.”

“Thanks, Annabeth.” he calls out, before mentally facepalming.  _ Shit. _ He wasn’t supposed to know that it was her.

Annabeth steps out from behind Chiron, taking off her cap.

“How’d you know it was me, Seaweed Brain?” she asks.

He grimaces. “Well, with all your yammering about going on your quest, I just assumed it would be you.”

Annabeth looks suspicious, but nods slowly. “Right….anyways, Athena and Poseidon haven’t always got along, but if you’re going to save the world, I'm the best person to keep you from messing up.” 

He thinks back to the Annabeth crying by his body in Olympus, and he thinks of how much she’s changed from the insecure, proud girl in front of him. He wants to cry, to hug her and apologize for leaving her, for killing Luke.

Instead, he smirks, and says “If you do say so yourself. I suppose you have a plan, Wise Girl?

She blushes. “Do you want my help or not?”

He tries not to nod too eagerly. “I suppose a trio would work,” he replies.

“Excellent,” Chiron says, shifting. A glint of bronze from his coat pocket catches his eye.

_ Riptide. Anaklusmos. _

Chiron is still speaking, but he starts inching closer to Chiron, and when Chiron dismisses them to go pack, he brushes by him, snatching the sword out of his pocket.

He really should feel guilty about this, but he doesn’t. Instead, he goes to Cabin 3 to pack, whistling a tune and trying to ignore the ramifications of his time travel.


	2. how can you tell, (how did you know)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> \“Nice job on apprehending the threat, Johnson.” Mr. D says, watching me closely. Percy breathes in relief; maybe he could get away with attacking another camper if-
> 
> “And how exactly did you know Lucas there was working for Kronos?”
> 
> Percy freezes. 
> 
> Oh shit.\

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I would just like to inform you that trigonometry is the worst form of math ever created. Only monsters like trig. Or nerds. No offense to the nerds.

Percy doesn’t pack much, but he does pilfer a few weapons from the training area. Just in case, of course.

The camp store loans him twenty drachmas and a hundred dollars, which with some bargaining, turns into two hundred.

They also give him some ambrosia and nectar, which he clutches carefully. He knows firsthand how important this will be. Annabeth brings her Yankees cap, a knife, and a book on classical Architecture written in Ancient Greek. Grover brought his fake feet, his hat, and some food. He also brought his reed pipes, which Percy cringed at, knowing the tortuous music Grover could play.

They waved goodbye to the other campers, then hiked up the hill to Thalia’s tree. Percy laid a hand on her trunk, thinking of the fierce girl crushed under the rubble of Hera’s statue, and wondered if she survived.

Chiron was waiting for them in his wheelchair, with Argus standing next to him.

“This is Argus,” Chiron said, introducing him. “He’ll drive you to the city, and, er, well, keep an eye on things.”

Percy snickered softly, but stiffened when he heard footsteps behind him.

_ Luke. _

Despite everything, a wave of anger washes over Percy when he spots Luke running up the hill, carrying the flying shoes that were supposed to drag him into Tartarus. 

“Hey!” Luke pants. “Glad I caught you.”

Annabeth blushes, and Percy scowls. Luke was  _ seven  _ years older than her. 

‘Just wanted to say good luck,” Luke tells him. “And I thought...um, maybe you could use these.”

He holds out the sneakers. Percy looks at the sneakers, then at Luke’s smiling face, like he’s not actively plotting to send Percy into the literal pits of hell right now.

Percy studies the sneakers, then watches Luke’s face. It looks so much happier, healthier than it was when he was serving Kronos, hosting his body.

Percy makes a decision. He doesn’t care if he messes up the timeline, he has to save Luke. He has to save Bianca, and Beckendorf, and everyone who died in the war.

So he makes a decision. Looking into Luke’s eyes, he says softly “You don’t have to do this, Luke.”

Luke’s smile falters. “What do you mean, Percy? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Percy ignores Annabeth’s and Grover’s questions and continues staring at Luke. 

“You don’t have to work for him, Luke. You don’t have to kill your father.”

Luke’s eyes are hardening now. “Percy, you’re talking nonsense. Who am I working for?”

Percy scowls at him. If Luke won’t admit it, he guesses that he’ll have to do this the hard way.

Faster than a snake, he uncaps Riptide and slips behind Luke, holding the sword to his throat.

“Return the lightning bolt and renounce your loyalty to Kronos. You know none of us will tell the gods. We’ll just say that one of Kronos’ servants stole it.”

Luke is pale now, and Annabeth is shouting at him to let Luke go. Chiron stares at Riptide, his face concerned.

“Percy, you should let Luke go. Whatever he has done, we can sort this out at the Big House.”

Percy ignores Chiron and flips Luke onto the ground, straddling him and pressing Riptide to his throat.

“If you didn’t do it, then swear it, Luke. Swear on the River Styx that you didn’t steal the master bolt. Swear that you aren’t trying to help Kronos rise. Swear that you aren’t trying to overthrow the gods!”

He’s shouting like a madman towards the end, but Luke stays silent, his face as white as a ghost.

“Luke, just swear it!” Annabeth shouts, her face red. “Just say it, so he’ll let you go!”

But Luke does not say a word. Chiron looks horrified now, his hand flying up to his mouth. 

“Luke…” he whispers.

But Luke is shouting now.

“You know Kronos is right, Percy! You know that the gods deserve to be destroyed!”

Annabeth rears back, horrified, but Luke continues.

“Look at what the gods did to Thalia! Look at how they carelessly throw away the lives of their children, how they abandon kids like Annabeth on the streets! Why do they deserve our loyalty?!”

Percy glowers at him. “So you’re going to destroy the world? You’re going to work for a monster who  _ ate  _ his own children? The gods may be horrible, but they aren’t  _ evil. _ ”

But Luke has turned to Annabeth now, pleading. “You get it right, Annabeth? You know Thalia would’ve joined me. You know that I’m right.”

Annabeth shakes her head, fear on her face. 

“What are you talking about? Are you really serving Kronos?”

Luke winces, turning away.

“Annabeth, I’m trying to help you. Please, Annabeth.”

But Annabeth is backing away now, turning and running back into camp. As Percy steps off Luke, sure to keep his sword pointed at him, Argus grabs Luke and starts dragging him back towards the Big House. Chiron starts leaving too, and he has no choice but to follow them.

Mr. D is waiting for them back at the Big House, staring with a contemplative look on his face. 

When Argus pulls Luke in front of him, he asks “Well, Logan, I suppose you aren’t going to tell us where the bolt is?”

Luke hesitates, then spits at his feet. Mr. D’s face scrunches up in disgust, but he waves his hand, and the saliva disappears. 

“Argus, take him into the house. We’ll hold him there until I finish dealing with this.” Argus grunts, and complies.

Now Dionysus is looking at Percy with an expression he has never seen before in his past life. He gulps nervously, and looks at the floor, shuffling his feet.

“Nice job on apprehending the threat, Johnson.” Mr. D says, watching me closely. Percy breathes in relief; maybe he could get away with attacking another camper if-

“And how exactly did you know Lucas there was working for Kronos?”

Percy freezes. 

_ Well, shit. _


	3. put your name on me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Percy faces the gods on Olympus, and tries (very badly) to keep his time travel a secret.
> 
> /The eyes of the king of gods bored into him, seemingly accusing and angry. His father’s face was impassive, carved from stone. The rest of the gods were whispering, most likely gossiping to each other. Children, Percy thought. They probably didn’t care that their megalomaniac father was rising from the Pits of Tartarus.
> 
> Sometimes, Percy really got why Luke had revolted./

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When you plan on something to be a one-shot, but then the story keeps going on, and the quality of your content slowly decreases.

Well, everything went to shit fast. They had locked him in the Big House with Luke (great idea, lock him in with his worst enemy) with Argus watching over the two of them. 

On the porch, he could hear Chiron’s hushed arguing with Mr. D. 

Percy sighed. With his luck, they would probably think he was serving Kronos too, and have him banished as a traitor. 

Fortunately, Mr. D does not turn him or Luke into a dolphin to “avert a future crisis, c’mon Chiron, better take care of them now before they can kill us all”.

Unfortunately, they decide to take him to Olympus. When Percy hears the verdict, he groans and tries to stop himself from banging his head against the wall. He honestly cannot  _ wait  _ to be put in front of a pantheon of gods and made to explain that he’s a dead time-traveler from a future where almost everything has gone to shit.

When they get to the Empire State Building, Percy tries to drag his feet as much as possible, but Chiron and Argus pull him and Luke along to the elevator, taking them to the 600th floor.

Trapped in the small metal box, Percy is starting to feel claustrophobic. Chiron turns to them, his face grave.

“When you speak with the gods, be sure to speak the truth. If you do not, the consequences will be far, far worse.”

Percy gulps nervously, nodding. Luke says nothing, ignoring him. The door opens, and Olympus is revealed in front of them. Despite the few times Percy has seen it before, the home of the gods still takes away his breath every time.

Argus stays by the elevator, but Percy and Luke follow Chiron into the throne room, a cavernous palace with gilded walls and columns. Luke sneers at everyone he passes, before they arrive in front of the Olympian council.

Instead of just Zeus and his father, the entire Olympian council was sitting in front of them this time. Percy gulped. The last time he had seen the whole council, they had been voting on whether to kill him or not. He had the feeling that this time would not be so different.

The eyes of the king of gods bored into him, seemingly accusing and angry. His father’s face was impassive, carved from stone. The rest of the gods were whispering, most likely gossiping to each other.  _ Children,  _ Percy thought. They probably didn’t care that their megalomaniac father was rising from the Pits of Tartarus.

Sometimes, Percy really got why Luke had revolted.

“Perseus Jackson. Luke Castellan.” Zeus rumbled. “You stand accused of serving my father, Kronos, Titan of Time. What do you have to say for yourselves?”

Luke stands up, his face furious. “I won’t deny it. The gods are power-hungry tyrants who have been in power far too long!”

Hermes flinches a little when he hears this, but if possible, Zeus’s anger only grows.

“How dare you-” 

“Father, please, maybe we should hear the other boy out first. Perhaps we do not have to kill them?” Hermes implores.

Zeus glowers, but complies grudgingly. 

“And what of you Percy Jackson. Loathe as I am to admit it, I doubt my brother would sink as low as working for Kronos.”

Percy avoids looking at his father, and instead faces Zeus.

“My lord, I cannot tell you everything, but I swear on the River Styx that I am not a servant of Kronos.”

Thunder booms, confirming my oath. Zeus, naturally, is not satisfied. 

“And why, exactly, can you not tell us? You may not be working for Kronos, but there are other enemies other than our Titan father.”

Percy winces a little.

“I- uh, I- saw it in a dream!” Percy exclaims, feeling moderately proud of himself for the handy excuse. He was just going to blame it on a dream the next time someone wondered why he knew something he wasn’t supposed to.

Luke, Chiron, and most of the gods stare at him in disbelief, but Zeus seems to be fooled.

“Very well, Perseus. I shall release you this time. You are commended for your actions to prevent Kronos-”

“Wait,” Hades said, holding up a hand. Percy panicked. What was Hades even doing here? He wasn’t even on the Olympian council.

“If my... _ nephew  _ is truly innocent, then who’s sigil is branded on his right arm?”

Everyone turned to look at him, and Percy pulled up his right sleeve in confusion. He didn’t have anything on his…

There, stark against the skin of his forearm, was a gleaming golden scythe seemingly branded onto his skin.

The gods gaped, and Zeus gripped the armrests of his throne.

“What is the meaning of this, demigod?!”

Percy was genuinely baffled. He didn’t remember this, and something like this had to hurt…

_ The flash of gold before he died, the pain in his arm when he woke up. _

  
“Oh wow.” Percy said. “That  _ asshole. _ ”


	4. dancing around you, into space

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Percy be going around exposing people. So subtle.
> 
> \  
> “Yeah, so stop being such a whiny bitch about it.” he mutters under his breath. Percy truly does not know how to stop when he’s ahead.
> 
> Zeus’s face turns a shade of red Percy has never seen before, and he thinks he’s about to prematurely visit Elysium when someone puts a hand on Zeus’s arm.  
> \

Zeus stands, lightning crackling in a wreath around his head.

“How  _ dare  _ you!” he shouts, the other gods reaching for their weapons as well.

Percy raises his hands, backing away nervously. 

“I can explain!” he stammers, silently cursing out Kronos with every Greek curse he knows. 

“Really?” Athena says with a mocking tone. “You can explain your servitude to Kronos?”

“No- it’s not what it looks like!” Percy shouts, exasperated.

“It looks like you have the symbol of the Crooked One on your arm, seconds after you swore you did not serve him.” Hades says sardonically (why is he  _ here? _ )

“Well-” Percy starts, then stops, because technically, Hades said nothing wrong.

“You see! The boy does not deny it!” Zeus says in a booming voice. Percy wonders distantly if Zeus’s voice is always booming. Was it a lightning god thing, or a king of Olympus thing?

“Peace, brother.” Hestia interrupts gently, and Percy wants to swear his undying loyalty to her. Hestia really was the best. “He swore on the Styx. He truly does not believe he is working for our father.”

“Yeah, so stop being such a whiny bitch about it.” he mutters under his breath. Percy truly does not know how to stop when he’s ahead.

Zeus’s face turns a shade of red Percy has never seen before, and he thinks he’s about to prematurely visit Elysium when someone puts a hand on Zeus’s arm.

Zeus whirls around, but Poseidon is there, his face unreadable. 

“Perseus” he says, and his voice sounds like waves crashing onto a sandy beach, and the tinkle of a golden fountain in the middle of the Poseidon cabin.

Percy looks at his face, and suddenly has to fight back tears, because in another life, this is the god who told Percy that he was his favorite son, that abandoned his underwater palace for him.

Instead, he bows, and says “Father” in an emotionless voice.

“Perseus. Why do you have the sigil of my father on your arm?”

Percy glares at the floor. He can feel the gazes of everyone burning into his back; even Luke is staring at him.

“I don’t know.” he admits. And it’s true. He doesn’t know why Kronos sent him back in time. Or was it Luke?

Zeus explodes. “Lies-” he shouts, before he is interrupted by Apollo.

“He’s not lying.” Apollo says quietly. 

Zeus glares at Percy, his face red, clearly trying to find something to accuse him of other than some random scythe tattoo on his arm. He could tell when Zeus gave up, sighing and turning to Luke.

“Well, we’ll come back to this later. For now, let us find my master bolt.” he said, turning his glower to Luke. Percy winced a little.

“While we are on this matter, I would like to bring up the fact that my helm is missing as well.” Hades said with a scowl on his face. “Might the demigod have anything to do with that?”

Luke flinched back at his voice, and Percy decided to intervene. After all, Hermes hadn’t helped his son last time. Percy honestly didn’t expect anything different to happen in this life, even if he was supporting the gods...mostly.

“I know who has the bolt.” he declares. Every eye in the room turns on him, and he squirms a little. Is it just him, or does Ares look a little nervous? He tries not to smirk, as it would doubtlessly encourage their image of him being a possessed Titan minion.

“Are you admitting to stealing it then, sea spawn?” Zeus asks, his stormy gaze hardening.

Percy resists rolling his eyes. He doubts that would endear him any farther to the king of gods.

“Where are all these leaps of logic coming from? Ares has the bolt. Obviously.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, my family's going out of town 4 spring break, so like I'm not going to be here. srry.


End file.
